Neuronal imaging and treatment

Abstract

A method is disclosed herein for imaging at least one autonomic nervous system synaptic center in a subject, as well as a method of diagnosing and/or monitoring a medical condition or disease associated with an autonomic nervous system, and a method of guiding a therapy of such a medical condition or disease. The methods comprise administering to the subject a radioactive tracer which selectively binds to autonomic nervous system synapses; measuring radioactive emission of the tracer to obtain data describing a distribution of the tracer in the body; and analyzing the data in order to identify at least one region exhibiting a high concentration of the tracer. Further disclosed herein are radioactive tracers, uses thereof, and an apparatus, for use in a method disclosed herein.

1 - 23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . An imaging method for imaging at least one synaptic center of an autonomic nervous system in a subject, the method comprising:
 measuring radioactive emission of a radioactive tracer which selectively binds to synapses of the autonomic nervous system, said radioactive tracer being administered to the subject, to obtain data describing a distribution of said radioactive tracer in the body, thereby imaging said radioactive tracer in the body, and   analyzing said data in order to identify at least one region exhibiting a high concentration of said radioactive tracer, thereby imaging at least one synaptic center.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein said imaging comprises 3-dimensional imaging. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein said at least one region has a diameter of no more than 20 mm. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein said synaptic center is selected from the group consisting of an autonomic ganglion and an autonomic ganglionated plexus. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising evaluating a neuronal activity in at least one synaptic center in the at least one region. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising generating a map showing a distribution and/or neuronal activity of synapses of the autonomic nervous system, said map including said at least one synaptic center. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising overlaying said distribution and/or neuronal activity on an anatomical map. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein said anatomical map includes an image of at least a portion of at least one organ. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising obtaining an image of at least a portion of a body of the subject, and using said image to generate said anatomical map. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein said analyzing comprises:
 reconstructing an anatomical image of a region of a body of the subject, said region comprising a portion of at least one internal body part;   processing said anatomical image to generate at least one image mask corresponding to dimensions of said at least one internal body part; and   correlating said at least one generated image mask with said data describing a distribution of said radioactive tracer in the body, for guiding a reconstruction of an image depicting said at least one synaptic center.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein said at least one image mask is generated based on templates that define the location of a synaptic center within and/or in proximity to said at least one internal body part. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising removing data describing a presence of said radioactive tracer from anatomical regions that do not contain synaptic centers based on the anatomical data of said anatomical regions. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising identifying said at least one synaptic center within the at least one generated image mask based on at least one predefined rule, said at least one predefined rule comprising radioactive emission of a radioactive tracer above a predefined threshold. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein said correlating comprises positioning said at least one generated image mask to correspond with regions exhibiting a high concentration of said radioactive tracer according to said data describing a distribution of said radioactive tracer in the body. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising comparing said data with a reference data set of synapse distribution and/or neuronal activity. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein said reference data set is indicative of normal synapse distribution and/or neuronal activity. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein said reference data set is indicative of a disease or disorder characterized by abnormal synapse distribution and/or neuronal activity. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising diagnosing a disease or disorder associated with an abnormal autonomic nervous system activity based on said imaging. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising stimulating a neuronal activity in conjunction with said imaging, and characterizing at least one synaptic center based on said stimulating. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 24 , comprising performing said imaging at multiple time points and characterizing distribution and/or neuronal activity at different time points. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein said multiple time points comprise time points before and after a treatment, the method further comprising evaluating an effect of said treatment on autonomic nervous system activity. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 43 , further comprising characterizing a rate of change in concentration of said radioactive tracer in at least one region of the body. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein an activity in a synaptic center is determined according to a correlation with a washout rate of said radioactive tracer. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising guiding a treatment based on the imaging of at least one synaptic center. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein said treatment comprises modulating neuronal activity in at least one synaptic center imaged by the method. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein said treatment comprises ablation of said synaptic center. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein said synaptic center is selected from the group consisting of a cardiac ganglionated plexus, a pelvic plexus and a celiac ganglion. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 24 , comprising imaging a first radioactive tracer administered to the subject which selectively binds to synapses of the autonomic nervous system, and further imaging at least one additional radioactive tracer administered to the subject, wherein a radioactive isotope of said first radioactive tracer and of each said at least one additional radioactive tracer are different from one another. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein said at least one additional radioactive tracer selectively binds to synapses of the autonomic nervous system. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein said first radioactive tracer selectively binds to synapses which are different than the synapses selectively bound by said at least one additional radioactive tracer. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein said at least one additional radioactive tracer does not selectively bind to synapses. 
     
     
         55 - 91 . (canceled) 
     
     
         92 . A nuclear imaging apparatus, configured to control the imaging method of  claim 24 . 
     
     
         93 . A nuclear imaging apparatus, configured to carry out an imaging method for imaging at least one synaptic center of an autonomic nervous system in a subject that was administered with a radioactive tracer which selectively binds to synapses of the autonomic nervous system, the method comprising:
 measuring radioactive emission of said radioactive tracer to obtain data describing a distribution of said radioactive tracer in the body, thereby imaging said radioactive tracer in the body; and   analyzing said data and identifying, based on said analysis, at least one region exhibiting a high concentration of said radioactive tracer, thereby imaging at least one synaptic center.